


I Hope They Remember You

by Valentine



Series: Canon Compliant Avengers Endgame Fics [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers: Endgame
Genre: A grateful universe, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Grief, Grief/Mourning, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Remembering the Dead, legacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 23:29:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18648307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valentine/pseuds/Valentine
Summary: Thanos got one thing right: after the final battle the Universe remembers its heroes.  They remember Tony Stark, Iron Man.





	I Hope They Remember You

They remember him. He is a hero, a legend, a god, in thousands of systems, on hundreds of thousands of planets, and for trillions of beings. He is a story, a promise, a prayer. He is dead but he lives on. There’s a monument on Chandilar, a proverb on Xander, a million-billion-trillion babies named Iron, Tony, Stark in every language the universe has to offer. 

The moon is cluttered with gifts big and small, memories from a grateful universe. Pilgrims come from Berhert, Easik, Contraxia, and thousands of other planets near and far. The Snap Memorials on earth are full of flowers, letters, pictures, and other memorabilia in honor of Tony Stark from an earth that didn’t always treat its heroes gently but remembers them well.

There are more personal memorials in lives lived: Peter Parker, Harley Keener, and Morgan Stark carry a legacy in their hearts as much as it is on their shoulders. The Bartons have another son. His name is Tony. Pepper Potts-Stark continues Tony’s vision for the company and for the planet and remembers a man who wasn’t perfect but was good. Rhodey and Happy tell stories about a man who didn’t always get it right but never stopped trying.

He’s not the only casualty of the battle nor the only one monuments are erected to. On Earth there are hundreds of ballet schools with free tuition under the name of Natasha Romanov. On Torfa there is goddess with red hair and eight limbs. She guides you through the land of death and delivers you safely to the other side. There are millions of children named Nat, Natasha, Romanov, and a thousand variations on the Black Widow.

In New Asgard there’s an impossibly gaudy, gold statue of Loki who holds the sun in his right hand and his helmet in his left. It’s a popular choice for youngsters practicing their graffiti. Thor thinks that Loki would appreciate their energy if not the direction it is directed in. Heimdall he keeps in his heart.

The Supreme Intelligence of the Kree creates a new university on Hala focused on cybernetics and names it after Vision. It’s not altruistic. It wants to make sure no AI ever approaches its own power, but there is respect there as well. It knows better than to claim Carol Danvers. 

The living are not left unthanked. Hulk in particular is a legend in his own right across the universe. Sakaar recreates his monument bigger than before. Zen-Whoberi invites Gamora home, a daughter they again recognize as their own. HalfWorld invites Rocket to a ceremony in his honor. He broadcasts his colorful refusal live across the planet’s communication’s systems.

The Avengers are bigger and stronger than ever before, but for the living the reverence isn’t quite the same. After all there is never a savior without sacrifice. And to choose to give one’s life in defense of others is the heart of sacrifice. Tony Stark may be dead but he will never be forgotten.


End file.
